Managing Multiple Projects: Avoiding Project Overload
By Duncan Haughey
What is the maximum number of projects a project manager should run concurrently before he/she is overloaded?
In a recent edition of PM Network magazine, project managers are bemoaning the number of projects they're being asked to manage, with the average number of concurrent projects at eight. This seems high by anybody's standards, especially as many are large and high profile initiatives.
A few years ago during an interview for the position of project manager at a software house, I made the mistake of telling the interviewer that I thought project managers should manage one project at a time so they could give it their full attention. Not something he wanted to hear. After some hasty back tracking I managed to convince him I was happy to run multiple projects and got the job.
At the time that is what I truly believed, but since then have accepted the reality that in business today project managers are expected to manage several projects at one time.
So accepting this, how many projects should a project manager run at the same time? It's not an easy question to answer as every project is different in terms of size, complexity and importance.
The more balls a project manager has in the air at any one time, the more likely it is he/she will drop one. Recently this happened to me. At the time I was managing several small and medium size projects and failed to notice that one was heading for problems. The project was in the execution phase, with a strict delivery deadline. Unfortunately, I'd failed to realise that extra testing was required to guarantee the software applications security on the Internet before it would be allowed to go live. I'd not planned for this task and had to scramble days before go live to get a third party to do the security testing. Luckily they had resource available ready to roll and the deadline was met, but it certainly caused some sleepless nights and didn't enhance my reputation as a project manager.
So in this instance was five projects too many to be managing at one time. In short yes, the fifth project was the straw that broke the camels back. Not enough attention was given to it, particularly in terms of managing stakeholder expectations, allowing a vital element to get overlooked.
So what can project managers do to avoid project overload?
- Learn to say no - recognise when enough is enough
- Avoid taking shortcuts in order to take on more projects
- Delegate certain aspects of projects to subordinates
- Prioritise in terms of importance and delivery date
- Spend adequate time managing stakeholder expectations (including your own line manager)
It's impossible to say what the maximum number of projects a project manager should run concurrently is before he/she is overloaded, but it's certain that if the number is greater than one, then there's a risk of running into problems. Be clear, the more projects a project manager undertakes the less effective they become.
So in my job interview was I wrong? No, if a project manager devotes all of his/her time and effort to a single project then there's little risk of him/her being distracted or losing focus. However, this is not reality in our modern business environment where project managers are expected to manage multiple projects concurrently. Just be careful you're not being overloaded, otherwise you could find you have problems that damage your reputation as a project manager.
